[Inn] The arrival of Elvar

[ My first attempt, introducing a character who has been with me
  for several years through various role-play games, and has quite
  a history attached.  But that may come out later...  I haven't
  tried writing before -- a bit more difficult than role-play,
  it seems.  The quality of writing in some of the threads in
  here is very impressive, let's hope I can keep up...  -Steve     ]

[ This is copyright 1996 Steve Shipway, all rights reserved ]
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The day was almost over.  The afternon light that streamed in through
the small windows was still bright, but it was fading fast as the
patrons of the Inn began to settle down for the evening after what had
been, on the whole, a relatively unremarkable day.  One of the serving
girls was adding a few logs to the stack by the large fireplace, ready
for the evening, and smoke from several pipes curled up towards the
ceiling.

Then the door opened, and without ceremony a man entered from the lane,
stained with the dust of the road.  This was not unusual -- many
travellers would choose the Inn as a place to spend the night whilst on
their route from one place to another, and the arrival of another
pilgrim would rarely cause anyone to stir themselves.  The new arrival
was short, as men go -- certainly no more than five feet and six inches
made his height, and a slim sword hung at his side, looking better kept
than the man himself.  Unusually, he wore little in the way of armour,
save for a supple leather jerkin, and although clean-shaven he seemed
to place personal appearance second to another, more driving priority,
for he wore no adornments and his clothing was not in the best state of
kepair.  He glanced around the room, and a brief hint of a smile
flickered across his face as he saw an empty seat near the fireplace.
Then it was erased by the slightly cynical, taciturn expression, that
habitually marred his otherwise handsome features.  

The newcomer removed his patched and dusty cape, and moved over to the 
fireplace.  The removal of his hood revaled at once the evidence of a 
partially elven ancestry -- no pure human could have a face of that shape.  
He sank gratefully into the seat, placing his pack close at hand, and surveyed
the room in more detail, analysing each subject in turn.  An expression
of hard suspicion appeared at the sight of the Drow by the bar, but
this was replaced by interest when he noted the manner in which the
Dark Elf was treated by the others.

His entrance had gained no more that a cursory glance from most of the
inhabitants of the room, all of whom had seen far more outlandish
things than this.  His glanced passed around the room, raising no more
response than a smile from the Drow, until it rested upon an old man in
the garb of a farmer, seated quietly in the light of the window.  Alone
amongst all the others, this man gazed back into the traveller's with a
piercing gaze that absorbed all details.  The traveller regarded him
intently for several minutes, prehaps gauging any possible threat or
value, before moving on in his survey of the room.

                               * * *

Some time later, as the traveller made a meagre meal of bread, cheese,
and ale, the farmer made his way over to where he sat.

"Fair evening to you, sir.  May I join you in conversation?"

"As you will." came the curt reply, as the traveller returned to his
food.

"Kind of you to grant an old man his whim.  I could not help but notice
that you are half-elven?"

"And what of it, old man?" replied the traveller angrily. "The mark is
on my features for all to see."

"Calm yourself.  I have nothing against the Elven folk.  There is no
shame in sharing their blood -- we would all profit from more
understanding between the races, I am sure."

The traveller seemed somewhat mollifed by this.  The brief expression
of anger faded, to be replaced by the usual expression.

"I apologise.  I have been on my own too long -- allow me to introduce
myself.  They call me 'Elvar', in the few places that know me by
sight."  He paused. "And I too have nothing against the Elven race as a
whole.  It is the mark of Humankind that causes me shame."

The farmer appeared somewhat taken aback by this, and would have spoken
again had the half-Elf not spoken first.

"I apologise again.  I must seem rude, and I have no intention of being so.
I would welcome some conversation -- it is only by sharing what we know that
we can learn, is it not so?  Come, let me buy you some ale, and see if we
cannot learn something of each other.  Prehaps you can aid me in my search
for knowledge of this world we live in."

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